53206 Cast

Episode 144: Housing Equity With Teig Whaley-Smith

Episode 143: Raise The Floor

Advancement can come in multiple forms. One way to approach advancement of a space is to commit to raising the floor, the base level or lowest form of a necessity. This week Meg and Alex talk about raising the floor on housing and share a story to better explain what the floor currently looks like. 

Episode 142: People Are People Too

This week, Meg and Alex talk through a recent break-in at one of the rental properties. While break-ins are never fun, this one in particular had some interesting components and variables to it that are a great reminder that people are people too. 

Episode 141: Affordable Housing With Bruce Kruger

This week, Bruce Kruger joins the podcast to discuss affordable housing and the journey that Whitefish Bay, a near northern suburb of Milwaukee is handling its desire to add affordable housing units to its housing stock. 

Episode 140: Using Design Thinking To Be A Better Advocate

Any time we assume there is a one size fits all in advacy work, we leave ourselves open to the possibility that we will do more harm than good. This week Meg and Alex talk about how to use the design thinking principals to be a better advocate. 

Episode 139: Embody Yoga

This week, Joanna Brooks, the founder of Embody Yoga joins the podcast to talk about her journey as a small business owner running the highly successful yoga studio, Embody Yoga. Embody Yoga is on a mission to share the practice of yoga with people of color and is a leader in the health and wellness space in the city of Milwaukee. Friend of the podcast and avid yoga enthusiest, Jessica Butler joins the conversation as well and gives an update on what Heal The Hood has coming up this summer. 

Episode 138: How To Productively Call Out Injustice

We haven't yet arrived at a socially just world, which means injustice exists. When you stumble across a situation which you percieve to be unjust, it's easy to get angry. This week Meg and Alex talk about that dynamic and offer an approach to help turn the world into what you would like it to be. 

Episode 137: Homes MKE Recap

Meg and Alex are back giving a recap of the Homes MKE podcast and giving some updates on projects they're working on. 

Episode 136: Homes MKE

This week, Meg and Alex sit down with Milwaukee's Commissioner of City Development, Lafayette Crump and Homes MKE Community Outreach Liaison, Jeremy Mitchell to discuss the Homes MKE initiative. Lafayette and Jeremy talk logistics, the philosophies behind the program, and its impact on the community.  If you have questions or want more information about the program or available properties, be sure to reach out at [email protected].

Episode 135: What Where You Thinking?

This week, Meg and Alex talk about what they were thinking about when they decided to buy their house. The two take a walk down memory lane and discuss the thought process that went into their decision to dedicate a part of their lives to making their neighborhood better. 

Episode 134: That House Is On Fire

Houses in 53206 are five times more likely to catch fire than in the surrounding zip codes. This week, Alex and Meg talk about house fires and the impact that has on the neighborhood. 

Episode 133: The Gap and The Gain and Social Justice

The gap and the gain philosophy, introduced by Dan Sullivan and Ben Hardy is a framework for viewing your progress toward acheiving long term goals. This week, Meg and Alex explain that philosophy and show how you can use it to stay motivated on your socical justice pursuits. 

Episode 132: Overcoming The Fear Of Being Labeled A White Savior

Meg and Alex are back for the first episode of the 53206 Cast in 2024. This week, the two talk about how to overcome the fear of being labled a white savior.  

Episode 131: Another Podcast About Access

This week, Meg and Alex are back with another episode on access. The inner city can be an isolating space and the more we can provide access to everything the world has to offer, the more a young person can envision themselves beyond their own circumstances and the more the world opens up to them. 

Episode 130: Trauma

Traumatic events seem to happen more reguarly in the inner city and the inward affects of that trauma is often hidden from outside world. This week, Meg and Alex talk about truama in the inner city and how that trauma affects day to day life. 

Episode 129: EPP and Marquette University

This week Meg and Alex are joined by longtime friend of the podcast Jamie DeJesus and Adelle Quick, a junior at Marquette University. The group talks about the value of the EPP program at Marquette which is designed to provide educational opportunities for those affected by the criminal justice system and Adelle gives some insight on what she learned from taking a class at a correctional institution. 

Episode 128: It's Not A Problem Anymore

This week Meg and Alex give an update on the white house on the corner and discuss the transformative power of tulip bulbs. Interested in helping kids transform their neighborhood by giving to We Got This? Check out www.wegotthismke.com.

Episode 127: The Return Of Jamie DeJesus

This week, Jamie DeJesus returns to give his annual Thanksgiving update. Jamie is a long time advocate for the justice involved and helps manage the Innovative Educational Solutions Institute which provides CNC and manufactoring skills training programming. You can find out more about IES at https://iesinstitute.org/.

Episode 126: Trick Or Treating

This week Meg and Alex discuss the trick or treat habits of their neighborhood and give some advice on how to expidite the process of deconcentrating of areas of poverty. 

Episode 125: Camo Keys

Things happen in areas of concentrated poverty that can make someone unfamiliar with those spaces uncomfortable, but does that mean we should avoid them? This week Meg and Alex talk about being ok with being uncomfortable and the surprise benefits of intentionally leaning in to uncomfortable situations. 

Episode 124: Cutting Your Grass With Scissors

Meg and Alex are back talking about an old friend and neighbor. 

Episode 123: The Lunch Ladies

This week Meg and Alex welcome special guests Jodi Delfosse, Lynn Charnitz, and Claudia Morris also known as the lunch ladies from We Got This. The group talks about their experience and gives some insight on how to serve well.

Episode 122: Violence Everywhere

A lot of people ask if we live in a violent neighborhood. Some violence is obvious and makes news headlines, but some goes quietly unnoticed. This week Meg and Alex talk about violence and what might be the disrupter of violence in a space with a long history of violence. 

Episode 121: The Cherry Woman

Spaces hold memories, both good and bad. This week Meg and Alex talk about this dynamic and pose the question what must it be like to live near spaces that are marred with trauma. 

Episode 120: We Got This Year In Review

This week Meg and Alex talk about the final Saturday in the We Got This summer program. The two talk ownership and purpose as it relates to We Got This and inner city spaces in general.  Here's a couple of quick stats from the summer.  Over 3200 hours served in the community by We Got This participants 175 different kids came out to work over the summer Over $16,000 was paid out to kids for working to make their neighborhood a better place to grow up in. 

Episode 119: Two Gallons Of Milk

It's easy to forget the impact something as simple as two gallons of milk can have on a person. This week Meg and Alex talk about the change two gallons of milk can have on a person. Then the two give an update on year end festivities at We Got This. 

Episode 118: What's Been Going On At We Got This

For 12 weeks each summer, dozens of kids come out to the We Got This garden to learn how to garden and make their neighborhood a better place. This week, Meg and Alex recap the first half of the summer program and give some highlights on what's been going on at We Got This. 

Episode 117: Affirmative Action

This week, Meg and Alex talk about the recent supreme court ruling striking down affirmative action college admissions programs.

Episode 116: Understanding A Little Bit More

The inner city is a complex space with comlex issues. This week, Meg and Alex talk about trying to understand just a little bit more. Then the two give some updates around We Got This and a couple of other things happening in the neighborhood. 

Episode 115: Margins

A $1,500 car can be nothing to somebody or it can be everything to somebody. The difference is in the margin that car creates. This week Meg and Alex talk about margins and how margins look different in their neighborhood. 

Episode 114: Richard Rothstein

Join Richard Rothstein (Color of Law) on the 53206 Cast podcast discussing his and his daughter Leah’s new book Just Action. Richard and Leah Rothstein will also be coming to Milwaukee tomorrow, June 2nd along with Milwaukee-based researcher at the Redress Movement Reggie Jackson as they talk Just Action! https://actionnetwork.org/events/just-action-book-release-discussion?source=direct_link&&link_id=1&can_id=ef6cdd58c91dfc5b25ce7f477311978f&email_referrer=&email_subject=just-action-bo...

Episode 113: The Home Shopping Channel

This week Meg and Alex discuss the rise in the number of white people within the neighborhood, something that was pretty rare a year ago. Then the two talk about Meg's newfound interest in the home shopping channel and give a quick We Got This update. 

Episode 112: Feeling Uncomfortable With Privilege

Nearly all of us will grapple with what it means to have privilege. Whether you have a lot or you have a little, our status in life is can be tied back to where we started or ways in which we have had an excess of good fortune. That discomfort can be a tool we use to remind ourselves to pursue equality and justice in the world.  This week, Meg and Alex talk about that discomfort and how to channel it into something positive and productive. 

Episode 111: Neighborliness

When you have a neighbor that isn't all that neighborhly it's easy to get stuck in the rut of hopelessness or to feel powerless. This week Meg and Alex talk about that feeling and how it's compounded in inner city spaces. 

Episode 110: Heal The Hood

The 11th annual Heal the Hood event is just over one month away. This week, Meg and Alex welcome back the founder of Heal the Hood Ajamou Butler along with this years emcees Jamila Riley and Jamila Carney. Ajamou is a well known poet, motivational speaker, and author. Jamila Riley is the owner of J. Riley, a crochet accessories and apparel boutique located in the Sherman Phoenix in Milwaukee's Sherman Park neighborhood. Jamila Carney operates Agape Yogestry and is a sought after yoga instruc...

Episode 109: The Redress Movement With Dynasty Ceasar

Dynasty Ceasar from the Redress Movement joins the podcast this week. The Redress Movement, birthed out of the book The Color of Law, works to remedy and repair the wrongs associated with housing segregation in cities like Milwaukee across the country.

Episode 108: Advocacy By Design With Jamie DeJesus

Jamie DeJesus is back, this time sharing some insights on how he approaches opportunities to do advocacy work. He shares some of his upcoming projects and talks about how we can be more aware of ways to enact change. 

Episode 107: The Re-entry Simulation

This week, Meg and Alex welcome back Jamie De Jesus to talk with Wylbur Holloway from Employ Milwaukee about the upcoming reentry simulation event. The group speaks about the importance of the event and gives some context around why someone might want to participate in a reentry simulation. If interested, here is the link for the event: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/justdane-reentry-simulation-tickets-551653659947

Episode 106: How Group Perception Can Perpetuate Reality

This week Meg and Alex chat about the state of housing in 53206 and discuss some recent interactions with property wholesalers attempting to buy their house. 

Episode 105: Milwaukee Historian Reggie Jackson

Milwaukee Historian Reggie Jackson returns to the podcast to discuss how Milwaukee became one of the most segregated major metropolitan areas in the country. 

Episode 104: Late Winter We Got This Update

This week, Meg and Alex give an update on We Got This and dream a little about what could be coming down the road. 

Episode 103: The White House On The Corner - Part 3

Areas dominated by poverty are significantly more likely to experience gun violence. This week Meg and Alex talk about an instance of gun violence that took place at the white house on the corner and make a case that the poor are the last ones that should have to deal with the effects of gun violence. 

Episode 102: Early Childhood Education With Ashley Harrell

This week Meg and Alex talk to early childhood education expert, Ashley Harrell. Ashley gives context to the importance of early childhood education and helps to redefine what school for our youngest learners should be and could be. 

Episode 101: The White House On The Corner - Part 2

The impact of one house's story shouldn't matter much, but when that same story plays out across a neighborhood or even a zip code, the effects can be devastating. This week, Meg and Alex provide some humanizing context to what happens when an inner city home is bought by an out of state investor and the effect it has on the neighborhood.

Episode 100: The White House On The Corner

One house doesn't make a neighborhood, right? But what if that house used to be good for the block and now brings harm to the block. This podcast is a story of one house, that used be a blessing to the neighborhood but is now a liability. 

Episode 99: Let's Go For A Run

This week's episode of the 53206 Cast is all about running. Chris Ponteri, who has run every street in the city of Milwaukee, Brian Hutchinson who is currently on a 9 year running streak and creator on instagram @mkejogwalker, along with Ashley Frahm, the Rufus King runner, join the podcast to talk about the surprising benefits of running in the city of Milwaukee.

Episode 98: Fixing Bike Tires With Noel Kegel

Noel Kegel, president of Wheel and Sprocket, joins the show this week to talk about the impact bikes can have on a community. Meg and Alex interview Noel and offer a different take on what it means to be an advocate. 

Episode 97: Talking About Home Ownership With Tyesha Shareef

This week Meg and Alex sit down with long time Borchert Field resident and current real estate agent Tyesha Shareef to talk about the promotion of home ownership within the Black community. 

Episode 96: Let's Think Differently About The Justice Involved

This week, Alex and Meg talk about a couple of ways in which we can grow in our own understanding of what it might be like to be a justice involved individual trying make their way in the world. 

Episode 95: Jamie DeJesus - Part 2

This week Jamie is back for part 2 of his interview with Meg and Alex. Jamie talks about good things happening in the justice involved community and gives some insights on what the non-justice involved can do to better understand the unique circumstances of those who have been incarcerated.